Emily Starr was born with the desire to write. As an orphan living on New Moon Farm, writing helped her face the difficult, lonely times. But now all her friends are going away to high school in nearby Shrewsbury, and her old-fashioned, tyrannical aunt Elizabeth will only let her go if she promises to stop writng! All the same, this is the first step in Emily's climb to success. Once in town, Emily's activities set the Shrewsbury gossips buzzing. But Emily and her friends are confident -- Ilse's a born actress, Teddy's set to be a great artist, and roguish Perry has the makings of a brilliant lawyer. When Emily has her poems published and writes for the town newspaper, success seems to be on its way -- and with it the first whispers of romance. Then Emily is offered a fabulous opportunity, and she must decide if she wants to change her life forever.

In the second book of the trilogy, Emily Byrd Starr longs to attend Queen's Academy to earn her teaching license, but her tradition-bound relatives at New Moon refuse. She is instead offered the chance to go to Shrewsbury High School with her friends, but there are two conditions: first, she must live with the aunt she dislikes, and second, she must not write for the duration of her high-school education. At first, Emily refuses the offer, unable to contemplate a life without writing, but then her cousin changes the condition slightly, amending it to just a restriction concerning writing fiction. Emily does not think this is much of an improvement, but it turns out to be an excellent exercise for her budding writing career. In fact, Emily ends up having some of her poems published, and she begins writing for the town newspaper. Soon, Emily is offered a fabulous opportunity, but accepting it would mean changing her life forever...